The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, applauds Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) for introducing the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Individuals and Communities through Education Act (CHOICE), which calls for strengthening and expanding school choice opportunities for K-12 students nationwide.

The CHOICE Act amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to make federal funds for eligible children “portable” by allowing their parents to use their allocation of federal funds to send their children to private schools that will best serve their children’s needs.

Finally, the CHOICE Act establishes a 5-year pilot program at the Department of Defense to award scholarships so that military children can attend the private or public school of their parents’ choice.

Said Nathan Diament, executive director for public policy for the Orthodox Union:

“We commend Senator Scott for his effort to empower parents and deliver greater educational opportunity to American children,” Diament said. “Just last week, the U.S. Department of Education issued a report documenting that billions of federal education dollars the Obama Administration intended to improve K-12 education were actually wasted by the education bureaucracies and didn’t deliver results. This is the latest evidence that parents must be empowered to deliver educational opportunities to their children, and Senator Scott’s CHOICE Act is an important step toward that goal.”